Quote:
Originally Posted by JesseK
TRIACs all basically work the same.
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While the part itself works the same in different dimmers, the signal for controlling it can have many different implementations. Some use a simple variable resistor-capacitor scheme for charging up to the trigger voltage at different rates. Some use a fancier current source and voltage comparator circuit. Some have a digital counter or even a full microprocessor to adjust the trigger delay.
(I built a light dimmer a long time ago using a single-chip microprocessor that had onboard UV-erasable EPROM. It was designed to recognize a hand waving past it upward to turn the light on, and downward to turn it off. Moving from the top and pausing in front of it for a while would dim the light; moving from the bottom and pausing would brighten it. It worked for a while before getting erratic, and I lost access to the programming station I needed to change the code.)